by Dave Nery…

For first-timers, listening to a guitar and flute duet is a multi-stage experience, and each level has its special pleasure. That was how JamBrain found the Oct. 29 performance by Duo Allant in Bliss Recital Hall.

Duo Allant (two going forward, continuing to grow) is flutist* Kathryn Thomas Umble and classical guitarist Francois Fowler, both faculty members of the Dana School of Music and widely celebrated musical performers.

*JamBrain still prefers the traditional term “flautist” for its decadence.

The Thursday concert featured traditional and modern works of varied styles, but appreciation of the music was the final phase of the fun.

Flute and guitar are not obvious companions. From the former, a wind (nee woodwind) instrument, the vibrations of the breath across the mouthpiece are gathered through its length and presented as a modified, mellowed, finished sound. In contrast, the vibrations of the strings of the guitar are always upfront and immediate, though modulated by the resonance of the wooden body’s sounding board.

The uneducated ear hears them separately, at the outset, creating something of a mental dissonance. Then the similarities begin to appear, first in the instruments themselves, soon after in the skill of the performers, and finally the listener can attend to the composition, with each shade an exciting discovery.

Of course, the only “dissonance” is incongruence, because neither flute nor classical guitar is anything but harmonious, and the instruments played by these master musicians are clearly of superior quality. Once the ear attunes to the tone of the tools, the craft of the artists wielding them becomes conspicuous.

In their first piece, four settings of “Histoire du Tango” by Astor Piazzolla, one listens first to flute, then guitar, each on its own, with a common tango beat and background. The four 16th century lute songs — pop hits then — by John Dowland and arranged by the performing duo play more to their commonalities and showcase their skills, until finally the picture absorbs your awareness. The 1981 composition, “Toward the Sea,” a tribute for Green Peace by Toru Takemitsu is a seamlessly flowing confluence of winds and strings and water; and it was hard to imagine, during Robert Beaser’s recent Mountain Song interpretations, that two other instruments could so melodiously meld. They added Jacques Ibert’s “Entr’acte” for a finale fillip.

Duo Allant will be ‘going forward’ further with an International Musical Journey, performing music from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and America in a Sundays at Stambaugh concert November 8 in Christman Hall, with lunch served at 12:15 and the program following. (Reservations are required by Nov. 5)